Cristiano Ronaldo stated that he decided to leave the national team camp after the coach's press conference and a conversation with the head of the Portuguese Football Federation. He later promised to explain the reasons for his departure from the national team.
On Tuesday evening, a conversation took place between Jorge Jesus and Cristiano Ronaldo, and it seemed to ease the tension within the national team. However, despite the head coach's words, the conflict still exists.
On Wednesday evening, the 41-year-old footballer announced on Instagram that he was leaving the Portugal national team camp in Scandinavia.
"After the press conference of the national team head coach and following the conversation with the president of the Portuguese Football Federation, I have decided to leave the team’s camp," CR7 wrote.
"In due time, I will tell all Portuguese people the truth about the reasons that prompted me to leave the national team, to which I have always been loyal," he added, wishing "good luck" to his teammates, "without exception."
For the third consecutive day, CR7 missed the national team training: he left the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, where the Nations League match between Portugal and Denmark is set to take place on Thursday. The captain of the Portugal national team got into a minibus of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) at the moment when all his teammates, except for the injured Francisco Conceição, were already training on the field.
This happened a few minutes after the press conference, during which Jorge Jesus announced that Gonçalo Ramos would take the attacking position from the start.
"No player from any national team refuses to train unless they are planning to leave or have other plans," Jesus prophetically noted. Shortly after 6:30 PM mainland Portugal time, Ronaldo's private jet took off from Madrid to Copenhagen. It is now known that he was heading there to pick up CR7.
On Tuesday, Cristiano Ronaldo did not train, although he did go onto the field. According to the FPF, there was no equipment in the stadium gym necessary for the individual training program that the player follows.
The players and the rest of the delegation returned to the hotel in Copenhagen without Jorge Jesus and Pedro Proença, the president of the FPF. Both reportedly tried to convince Ronaldo to stay with the national team; Jesus even assured that the forward would participate in training on Wednesday.
The instability caused by Ronaldo's reaction to the coach's tactical decisions forced the FPF president to urgently fly to Denmark the day before to address the situation and try to minimize the damage. However, these efforts were unsuccessful.
Last Sunday, CR7 spent the entire match against Norway on the bench. This had not happened to him in official games for the national team for 18 years. It was only the third time since his debut for the team that he remained an unused substitute.
From the player's message on Instagram, it remains unclear whether this is a temporary separation from the national team or a definitive departure.
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